NISKAYUNA — A holocaust memorial proposed in Niskayuna is drawing strongly opposing opinions within the Jewish community and community at large.

Michael Lozman, a Latham orthodontist, is spearheading the effort to build a Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial on Troy-Schenectady Road, in a lot east of the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery donated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.

However, not everyone's vision of a proper memorial aligns.

"It is not the least bit true that there's unity among the Jewish community for this," said Mishka Luft, whose parents are survivors of the Holocaust. "I felt a gut punch on this because of the design of it."

The memorial is designed to have railroad tracks in the shape of the Star of David leading to a box car standing in front of a stone wall — representing the gas chamber — on the back of which Lozman plans to engrave the names of Holocaust survivors that lived in the community. An exterior pathway leading to the memorial will be lined with educational kiosks.

The memorial, Lozman said, symbolizes the Jews that were transported in box cars to death camps.

"It will be a serene park-like setting for meditation, prayer and learning," he said. "It's designed to symbolically represent what happened during the Holocaust, and why we always have to be diligent of what's going on to prevent this kind of thing from happening again."

According to Luft, though, this memorial is "misappropriating symbols of the death camp."

"(Lozman) has co-opted all of the symbols of the horror with the intention of shocking people, but it won't be the educational kind of shock he seems to think it's going to be," she said.

Niskayuna Rabbi Matthew Cutler, who sits on the board for the memorial, said the design of the memorial is "striking and powerful," but that he's not thrilled about it.

"You're dealing with the symbol of hatred, and the concentration camps are the most powerful images," Cutler said. "You can really make real what occurred, and that's the style that Lozman is going for."

Overall, Cutler said he stands for the memorial, but that there are still pieces that have to be figured out, such as guaranteeing the quality of the educational aspect of the memorial.

Lozman stressed the educational purpose of the memorial, which he envisions will be a strong visual aid for classroom lessons about the Holocaust. He said it's early to talk details, but that "the educational aspect of the kiosks will be done by educators using their professional expertise."

"People are passionate on both sides," Cutler said. "This is a very painful chapter in Jewish history. There are going to be people that will never buy into this, and we need to accommodate them."

The Niskayuna Town Board is holding a public hearing about the proposal on April 10.